In Nepal, prepubescent Newari girls known as kumaris are worshipped as deities, endowed with foreknowledge, able to cure the sick, fulfill wishes and bestow blessings for protection and prosperity. They are the link between Earth and the realm of the divine and, above all, are believed to generate in their devotees maitri bhavana—a spirit of loving-kindness toward all.
Today there are just 10 kumaris in Nepal, nine of them in the Kathmandu Valley. They’re still selected only from families attached to certain bahals, or traditional courtyard communities, and all their ancestors must have come from a high caste. Being chosen for the position is regarded as the highest honor, one that can bestow innumerable blessings on a kumari’s family. So despite the financial burden and personal sacrifices involved in maintaining a young girl as a living goddess in the modern world, and the challenges of her rehabilitation once she reaches puberty and has to live a normal life again, certain families are still prepared to put their daughters forward for selection.

Every 2 seconds, a girl becomes a child bride. Nowhere is that statistic more relevant than Africa, home to 15 of the 20 countries with the highest rates of child marriage in the world.
The practice often dictates the end of a girl’s education as well as premature motherhood, making it the root of so many of the continent’s problems: poverty, gender inequality, maternal and infant mortality, sexual and domestic abuse, and the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Though many countries in Africa have laws on the books prohibiting child marriage, they’re often undermined by an attachment to centuries-old traditions, a dearth of political will to enforce that legislation and a lack of understanding of the devastation child marriage can inflict on an entire community.
In an effort to educate communities about the widespread dangers associated with child marriage and encourage them to halt the practice, the African Union launched its Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa in 2014. Since then, the effort has attracted a burgeoning roster of child advocates, from government officials and religious authorities to traditional leaders and former child brides—all bent on serving as champions of change in Africa.